Around Semipalatinsk nuclear test site: progress of dose estimations relevant to the consequences of nuclear tests (a summary of 3rd Dosimetry Workshop on the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site area, RIRBM, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, 9-11 of March, 2005).

The paper is an analytical overview of the main results presented at the 3rd Dosimetry Workshop in Hiroshima(9-11 of March 2005), where different aspects of the dose reconstruction around the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site(SNTS) were discussed and summarized. The results of the international intercomparison of the retrospective luminescence dosimetry(RLD) method for Dolon' village(Kazakhstan) were presented at the Workshop and good concurrence between dose estimations by different laboratories from 6 countries (Japan, Russia, USA, Germany, Finland and UK) was pointed out. The accumulated dose values in brick for a common depth of 10mm depth obtained independently by all participating laboratories were in good agreement for all four brick samples from Dolon' village, Kazakhstan, with the average value of the local gamma dose due to fallout (near the sampling locations) being about 220 mGy(background dose has been subtracted).Furthermore, using a conversion factor of about 2 to obtain the free-in-air dose, a value of local dose approximately 440 mGy is obtained, which supports the results of external dose calculations for Dolon': recently published soil contamination data, archive information and new models were used for refining dose calculations and the external dose in air for Dolon village was estimated to be about 500 mGy. The results of electron spin resonance(ESR) dosimetry with tooth enamel have demonstrated the notable progress in application of ESR dosimetry to the problems of dose reconstruction around the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site. At the present moment, dose estimates by the ESR method have become more consistent with calculated values and with retrospective luminescence dosimetry data, but differences between ESR dose estimates and RLD/calculation data were noted. For example mean ESR dose for eligible tooth samples from Dolon' village was estimated to be about 140 mGy(above background dose), which is less than dose values obtained by RLD and calculations. A possible explanation of the differences between ESR and RLD/calculations doses is the following: for interpretation of ESR data the "shielding and behaviour" factors for investigated persons should be taken into account. The "upper level" of the combination of "shielding and behaviour" factors of dose reduction for inhabitants of Dolon' village of about 0.28 was obtained by comparing the individual ESR tooth enamel dose estimates with the calculated mean dose for this settlement. The biological dosimetry data related to the settlements near SNTS were presented at the Workshop. A higher incidence of unstable chromosome aberrations, micronucleus in lymphocytes, nuclear abnormalities of thyroid follicular cells, T-cell receptor mutations in peripheral blood were found for exposed areas (Dolon', Sarjal) in comparison with unexposed ones(Kokpekty). The significant greater frequency of stable translocations (results of analyses of chromosome aberrations in lymphocytes by the FISH technique) was demonstrated for Dolon' village in comparison with Chekoman(unexposed village). The elevated level of stable translocations in Dolon' corresponds to a dose of about 180 mSv, which is close to the results of ESR dosimetry for this village. The importance of investigating specific morphological types of thyroid nodules for thyroid dosimetry studies was pointed out. In general the 3rd Dosimetry Workshop has demonstrated remarkable progress in developing an international level of common approaches for retrospective dose estimations around the SNTS and in understanding the tasks for the future joint work in this direction. In the framework of a special session the problems of developing a database and registry in order to support epidemiological studies around SNTS were discussed. The results of investigation of psychological consequences of nuclear tests, which are expressed in the form of verbal behaviour, were presented at this session as well.

Overall image of nuclear tests and their human effects at Semipalatinsk: an attempt at analyses based on verbal data.

The present paper is part of an attempt at finally reconstructing the realities of nuclear tests and their human effects near Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan. As a first step, it tries to reconstruct the overall image of nuclear tests and their human effects. Our data are 199 written testimonies of those affected by radiation, which were collected in 2002 and 2003. We statistically processed them, and categorized those words and expressions, which occurred most frequently in the testimonies, and obtained some forty categories, which represent the experiences, feelings, desires of those affected by radiation. Next, we conducted a principal component analysis of the categories. The result shows: (1) The experiences of the nuclear tests are arranged along the time axis, with direct experiences of the nuclear tests forming one coherent part of the perception and memory, and with other subsequent experiences forming another. (2) Of the latter, we can discern a core of the experiences on human effects such as "disease," "death," "family," "radiation," and so on. (3) And around this core, we see two different trends: one pointing to the current distress and plight, and the other pointing to future fear and hope.

Human suffering effects of nuclear tests at Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan: established on the basis of questionnaire surveys.

The main objective of the present paper is to explore the effects of radiation exposure on the inhabitants near the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Tests Site (SNTS), Kazakhstan. Our research team of the Research Institute for Radiation Biology and Medicine, Hiroshima University, started in 2002 to conduct a field research study using questionnaire surveys. The present paper attempts to clarify health effects and mental problems on the inhabitants by using our questionnaire surveys. Among the responses to our survey, the present paper focuses upon responses to the questions concerning their health and mental problems. The data in Semipalatinsk have been compared with the results obtained in a similar survey conducted by Hiroshima and Nagasaki cities. The results show: (1) 33% of the residents replied that they felt bad or had very bad health conditions. (2) 70% of the residents strongly recognized a causal relationship between their bad health conditions and the nuclear tests. (3) The diseases that over 30% of respondents possessed are arthralgia/ lower back pain/ arthritis, high-blood pressure, heart disease and digestive system disease. (4) Acute radiation injuries from 1949 to 1962 that over 20% of respondents experienced were headaches and general malaise. (5) Concerning their mental condition, 22% of respondents felt easily frustrated and agitated and 21% experienced nightmare.

Effect of NOS2 gene deficiency on the development of autoantibody mediated arthritis and subsequent articular cartilage degeneration.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of NOS2 gene deletion on articular cartilage degradation in autoantibody mediated arthritis (AMA). METHODS: Female C57BL/6Ai-[ko] NOS2 N5 (NOS2-/-) mice (7-8 weeks old) and the counterpart C57/Bl6 Crj mice (wild-type, WT) were studied. Arthritis was induced by intraperitoneal injection of 4 mg of an arthritogenic cocktail of 4 monoclonal antibodies raised against type II collagen twice on Day 0 and Day 1 followed by intraperitoneal injection of 50 micro g of lipopolysaccharide on Day 2. Individual limbs were scored for arthritis in 4 grades; the total maximum score per mouse was 16. Femoral condyles and tibial plateaus of both knee joints were collected on Day 15 for immunohistological studies on nitrotyrosine and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-3 and -9. DNA fragmentation in chondrocytes was detected by the nick-end labeling (TUNEL) method. Blood was also collected on Day 15 to determine serum levels of nitrite/nitrate and interleukin 1 beta (IL-1 beta). RESULTS: Both NOS2-/- and WT mice with AMA developed clinically apparent arthritis. In WT mice, the arthritis progressed rapidly and reached the peak score 11.4 +/- 2.9 on Day 12, whereas the arthritis in NOS2-/- mice was milder and the peak score was 7.7 +/- 2.8 on Day 13 (p < 0.05). The serum nitrite/nitrate levels, histological grades of articular cartilage degradation, and numbers of apoptotic chondrocytes and nitrotyrosine positive chondrocytes were significantly lower in NOS2-/- mice with AMA than in WT mice with AMA. Conversely, significant differences were not observed in MMP-3 or -9 expression in chondrocytes, or in serum IL-1 beta levels between these 2 groups of mice. CONCLUSION: NOS2 gene deletion did not affect the inflammatory responses, but reduced the cartilage degradation.

Changes in LPIA D-dimer levels after total hip or knee arthroplasty relevant to deep-vein thrombosis diagnosed by bilateral ascending venography.

The purpose of the current retrospective study was to determine the most sensitive and specific cutoff value of plasma D-dimer level associated with deep-vein thrombosis (DVT) after total hip (THA) or knee (TKA) joint arthroplasty. Diagnosis of DVT was determined by bilateral ascending venography pre- and postoperatively. Plasma D-dimer levels were measured by a latex photometric immunoassay system (LPIA) preoperatively and postoperatively on days 1, 3, 7, 10, 14, and 21. Postoperative DVT diagnosed by venography was found in 22 patients (40.1%) after THA and in 18 patients (64.3%) after TKA. Plasma D-dimer levels were significantly higher ( P < 0.01) in patients with DVT than in those without DVT on days 1, 7, and 10 after THA, but only on day 7 after TKA. Statistical analysis confirmed that a cutoff value of 10.0 microg/ml for D-dimer on day 7 was most sensitive (THA, 95.5%; TKA, 94.4%) and most specific (THA, 96.9%; TKA, 90.0%) in the diagnosis of DVT after THA as well as TKA. It was concluded that over 10 microg/ml of LPIA D-dimer on postoperative day 7 appears to be an indication of the occurrence of DVT after THA and TKA.